A training course entitled ‘Qualitative, physicochemical and phytochemical indicators of cherry fruit’ was held in Lemesos, Cyprus, between 2 and 4 June 2015. This short course was organised under the auspices of COST Action FA1104 ‘Sustainable production of high-quality cherries for the European market’, and was attended by 15 researchers (mainly PhD students) from different parts of Europe.
As explained by George Manganaris, Assistant Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology, “COST Actions are intended for new and emerging science and technology fields and aim to build bridges between disciplines and research communities; they serve to spread knowledge to key stakeholders, including industry, in particular SMEs.”
Theoretical courses dealt with post-harvest aspects of sweet cherry fruit, quality evaluation and determination of phytochemical components with advanced analytical methods. Practical sessions included the determination of qualitative attributes, mechanical properties, extraction methods and determination of phytochemical compounds and their antioxidant potency.
The main reason for the course’s organization, according to Mr Manganaris, has been “To render young promising researchers familiar with techniques dealing with quality evaluation of sweet cherries, with special emphasis on their phytochemical profile. All trainees, selected from a pool of candidates who applied based on their curriculum vitae, expressed their enthusiasm about their participation in the event.”
He also stressed how such COST actions, open to participants all over Europe, “Encourage mobility among researchers across the continent, and are thus a powerful tool to facilitate the transfer of knowledge.”
Lastly, Mr Manganaris assured to be optimistic about the potential of European sweet cherries, since “new cultivars are being developed from breeding programs and considerable advances are being made in training systems and in supply chain management, which should lead to an increase of sweet cherry production both onquantitative and qualitative terms.”
For more information:Cyprus University of Technology
G.A. Manganaris
email: [email protected]
www.cut.ac.cy/fruitsciencesgroup
